Academics 

Culinary Arts 

By: Elizabeth Monzon Santos 

Who doesn’t love to cook? Well our Seahawks love our culinary arts program. Culinary arts at HHIHS is a part of our CATE program and if you take all three you will graduate with a cord. Chef Hill is the instructor of this program and he makes everyone welcome, whether they know how to cook or don’t. At the end of the day a student will learn a new recipe and will carry it out of class. 

Before the culinary program started it used to be a food and nutrition class, and when Chef Hill joined the seahawk nation, the school turned it into a cooking class. The CATE department (Career and Technology Education), felt the large opportunities that a student could take from this class. Chef Hill said “I am hoping they take out life skills and lessons even if they do it as a profession or not.” Even if they don’t take it as a job they at least know how to cook waffles, homemade pizza, or even a burger.  

In Chef Hill’s classroom he has an award from a chopped competition that the district did and HHIHS won that year, last year they sadly lost by one point but he hopes they will win this year!

Every teacher has their own reason why they became a teacher, one of the reasons Chef Hill became one was from his early age because he’s always loved cooking and he said “My passion for cooking is something I can pass on and working with the youth is one way I can do that.”

Rell Strocko is a junior at HHIHS and this year is her second year taking Culinary Arts. She is in the advanced class, so she can make more advanced foods and learn new tricks. Rell said “ The class has benefited me because I've made new bonds with my classmates and I learn new recipes almost everyday. The class also helps me with graduating because now I can receive a cord.” Rell appreciates Chef Hill for pushing her and teaching her new things everyday. 

This year students have the opportunity to take Intro to Culinary because before it was Culinary one and two, but the CATE department has decided to put in an Intro class. Nathan Apy said “I enjoy this class because it has taught me a lot of cooking skills and I do love to eat. All jokes aside, Chef Hill is a great teacher and he has taught me so much.” Moving forward we will be expecting more students to join Intro to Culinary. 

Everyone has a recipe or their FAVORITE meal they like to eat, Kendall Montes said “My favorite this year have been perogies, beef stroganoff, and anything with pasta.” He added that he has cooked these recipes outside of school for his family and they loved it. 

CATE Program 

By: Elizabeth Monzon 

At HHIHS we have a CATE program (Career and Technical Education), the CATE program contains many classes that you are allowed to take in the school. Coach Beachkofsky is the director of the program at our school, she teaches intro to hospitality, events and entertainment, and travel and tourism. 

The CATE program was one of the original sections of courses and years ago it was called “Business Education”, even though we still teach business subjects we have added more courses like: web page design and culinary. Students have the chance for career and technical skills, Coach Beach says “when they leave here we hope that they have picked up some skills and found a career that they can put those skills to work.”

If you want to become a CATE completer, usually you would only have to take the two or three classes they offer unless that class you want is asking for more classes. Once you complete the required courses and the elective course for the pathway you will be able to do CO-OP. CO-OP is when you get to leave school early and you can go home, work, or the school can help with an internship. 

Coach Beach says “It is nice to have the knowledge but being able to receive scholarships, Certifications (OSHA & MICROBURST), and being able to work in the hospitality, culinary, or in a computer center.” 

Gracie Brasko is in dual enrollment so she is only here for two classes then goes to USCB. Gracie also works in Food and Bev and she said “This program has helped me understand what Hospitality is like, and has made me understand what this industry is like.”

Here are the pathways titles: General Management, Hospitality, Culinary, Marketing Communications, Business Finance, PLTW Computer Science (Project Lead The Way), Web & Digital Communication, and College & Career Readiness.

                     ACT/SAT Tutoring with Mr. Taylor

By: Kimberly Valladares

I was talking to Mr. Taylor about how ACT/SAT works and how it impacts us. Mr. Taylor  “So the ACT and the SAT are widely considered to be challenging tests and people wanna be able to take advantage of the opportunities that they can give you such as scholarships, opportunities for college or a variety of benefits. I taught an SAT and ACT prep class for a couple of years and I thought that I would use that knowledge for people that want it.” Mr. Taylor has told us a little about the benefits of taking the ACT/SAT and how challenging it could be but it offers lots of benefits to your future.

Mr. Taylor is telling us some of the things that the ACT/SAT would go over. Mr. Taylor said “So we will be spending time working with practice tests that are either invented to be very similar to SAT and ACT or are actually previous tests we will practice those and we will go over strategies to help improve your score.” Mr. Taylor was explaining a little bit of what they practice and what they practice for for the ACT/SAT.

Mr. Taylor is going to tell us if he has timed the test to see if it challenges the students. Mr. Taylor said “Yes, when you show up to tutoring often i'll start with just a few questions of practice or a portion of a practice test and then we will go over it afterwards and answer any questions you have.” I think Mr. Taylor has an excellent point of going over the practice tests for practices because it can help them improve their scores in the future.

Where is the location for the ACT/SAT tutoring taking place. Mr. Taylor said “Takes place in Barnes & Nobles in the cafe area.” Mr. Taylor tutors at Barnes & Nobles so they can practice a little more after school with utensils they made needed for the ACT/SAT test.

I was wondering how long Mr. Taylor has been tutoring because it takes quite a while to tutor and lecture students on the ACT/SAT. Mr. Taylor said “So three weeks ago was the first time unfortunately I didn’t have anyone show up but tonight is actually tonight Wednesday October 19th is the first one that hopefully i'll have a lot of people show up to it.” I think Mr. Taylor had a wonderful audience that evening and hopefully people showed up because he is a wonderful teacher.

Studying is Important 

By: Norma Velez 

Standardized state testing is important. They are provided each year, thus, giving students the opportunity to participate in taking these exams anywhere from middle school to high school. By taking standardized tests, students receive their scores which can be used for college admissions and receiving merit-based scholarships. These standardized tests are definitely not easy but most definitely not impossible. Which is why there are numerous practice test booklets, which are provided both electronically and physically. In this case, both the ACT and SAT are the main standardized tests that are used for college admissions. No test is harder than the other, different students tend to do better on one test than the other.

Having the opportunity to receive assistance from not only practice tests but also teachers, it is an opportunity that no student shall miss. Therefore there has been an opportunity for students this year to get involved and to improve their testing scores. In Hilton Head Island High school, Mr. Taylor has given every student the opportunity to join his tutoring sessions for the standardized testings, which are the ACT and the SAT. Mr. Taylor states his reasoning for tutoring students. “I have taught SAT classes for the last couple of years and I believe that those tests are hard for a lot of people. I want to support our students as much as possible by giving them each the opportunity to improve their testing skills and academic skills, whether that is math, english, or science, for both the SAT and the ACT.”

Even though the standardized tests are provided each year for students, Mr. Taylor isn’t always available for tutoring students. “I don’t do this every year, I do this when I'm able to do this.” Mr. Taylor conforms. Although additional help being provided isn’t available every year, students can go out of their way to purchase or print their own practice tests and continue to strengthen their academic skills outside of school. 

Students that are interested in joining the tutoring program are required to meet in Barnes and Noble. “Students meet a few times throughout the fall. We have two meetings in November and one at the beginning of December.” Mr. Taylor continues. “I will provide all the practice test materials; however, the students should bring their tablets, pencils, and a calculator.” Barnes and Nobles was chosen as a method for students to study in a quiet and calm environment, with no distractions to be given to students who have come to study and strengthen their skills. However, even though students learn in different ways/environments, it is prefered for students. Comfort is key and students shouldn’t feel pressured, disturbed, or stressed while studying. They should be in calm and collected places to achieve greater results. 

Every after school program runs differently, whether that is stating requirements and sign-up sheets for students in order to be approved, or simply arriving at the designated meeting place and participating with the others. “There isn’t a sign up sheet for students to sign up, they can simply come to Barnes and Noble during the days that the turing seasons are being held. Students must come within the first hour that I am there. Students can also talk to me if they want to schedule a specific time.” Mr. Taylor states. 

Tutoring for any subject is important. It can strengthen your academic skills and even improve people on skills that they weren't aware that they lacked. Mr. Taylor is always available for any questions or concerns.

HHI: The CATE Program

By: Norma Velez

Career Technical Education Program, or CATE is a program that brings career-based classroom curricula to life by improving students’ knowledge of local career opportunities through first-hand experiences. At Hilton Head Island High School, there are many programs that are given to students to select and participate in to obtain real world skills.

“The CATE Program is the Current Technical Education Program that provides courses in real world pathways such as Culinary Arts, General business, Hospitality, Tourism and Marketing.These are classes that someone would take and specialize them. When students graduate from high school, the student will obtain real world skills.” Said Coach Beach.

“There are no requirements for students to join, there are courses that are offered that the student would notify guidance to sign up and take these courses. Then the student is required to complete a pathway, when the student completes the pathway they are eligible to receive the certification. This means that the student is college and career ready, and the student would also obtain a professional credential, like an OSHA certification,” Coach Beach stated.

Coach Beach continued.“The goal for the CATE Program is to prepare students to be more college and career ready, meaning that once they complete the pathway, the student shall receive the cord for graduation and be ready for college. However, the goal of the CATE program and the CATE teachers is to give students actual life skills that are helpful for the rest of their lives.”

Coach Beach concluded. “The skills that students learn depend on the curriculum or CATE based program that the student partakes in. An example would be Culinary Arts, instructed by Chef Hill. In this class students have the opportunity to learn or strengthen their cooking skills. These skills can be really helpful to students who wish to take those steps into a future career or simply use these skills for their personal lives.”

In conclusion, real world skills are highly important skills that the newer generations should consider participating in. Whether it is Culinary Arts, Personal Finance, or Marketing, students have the ability to learn skills that can prepare them for the real world.